It was in August 2020 that manager Cho Seong-hwan sat at the Incheon United headquarters. Incheon, which was at the bottom without a win until the middle of the season, avoided relegation with 7 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses after the appointment of manager Cho. 11th out of 12 teams. As the K-League was shortened due to the Corona 19 pandemic, the promotion playoffs were not held. Until this time, it was regarded as an extreme version of the ‘remaining theater’ scenario that Incheon, the ‘survival king’, had written every year, but the situation changed rapidly after that.
Coach Cho, who celebrated his first full season in Incheon in the 2021 season, set the goal of ‘early retention’ and confirmed early retention (8th place). The following year, he set the goal of advancing to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (4th place) and won the Asian Champions League (4th place). This is the first time in club history. In the ‘Cho Seong-hwan system’, Incheon’s dream has always become a reality. The pride of not being demoted once in 19 years, saying goodbye to the modifier ‘remaining king’, and now aiming for a stable ‘Big 4’.
At a press conference for the field training held on the 14th in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, coach Cho said, “The word ‘survival king’ is no longer our modifier. As the airport is also close, I want to make it a team that can always go to the Asian Champions League.” In addition, “a more important goal is 10,000 spectators for every game,” he said. “I know how much our fans value the results we created last year. I have a responsibility to give you more pleasure than that.” 보증놀이터
The determination to ‘Incheon has changed and I will turn this change into a fixed history’ is detected in the club’s winter transfer move. Incheon made a series of big transfers, including Shin Jin-ho (35), who played as the best midfielder in the league for Pohang Steelers last year, and Jerso Fernandez (32, Guinea-Bissau), a wing striker for Jeju United. Shin Jin-ho, who said that he had come to find a “team that makes his heart beat,” revealed his dream by saying, “I want to win a championship in Incheon.”
Coach Cho hopes this reinforcement will fill the void left by Stefan Mugosa, who left Incheon last summer. Mugosa scored 14 goals even though he played half of last season. Shin Jin-ho recorded 14 attack points (4 goals and 10 assists) last year, and Gerso recorded 15 (8 goals and 7 assists). Coach Cho added this explanation and said, “It is like bringing in players who can increase points in each position by erasing concerns about the departure of Mugosa.”